The aftermath of the border conflict left a lingering tension that even the stone walls of the Black Spear headquarters could not fully contain. While the Kingdom of Arcadia had begun stirring with rumors of victory, the true architect of that survival had retreated into a far quieter battlefield.

  The Orphan Planet

  As Nico's body succumbed to exhaustion after the severe depletion of his mana, his consciousness drifted through an ocean of familiar darkness.

  He found himself once again in that abyssal place.

  A domain where silence was absolute and desolation seemed to be the only language spoken.

  He stood upon the surface of an orphan planet — a barren sphere of lifeless rock suspended within an endless black void. There was no sun to illuminate it, no neighboring planets to accompany it. The world felt abandoned, as though it had been erased from the universe's memory.

  And in the heart of that emptiness stood the Great Crown.

  Its light alone pierced the eternal darkness. A majestic yet unsettling radiance spread from its structure, dazzling the senses and threatening to overwhelm the mind.

  Nico felt a strange pull toward it.

  A gravitational attraction that did not belong to the laws of physics but rather to something far deeper — something that seemed to call directly to his consciousness.

  This time the details were clearer than ever before.

  He could see the intricate structure of the crown. Jagged crystalline edges spiraled upward like frozen lightning, pulsing faintly with a rhythm that resembled a distant heartbeat.

  The pull intensified.

  For a moment his awareness threatened to drown within its brilliance.

  But Nico forced himself to focus.

  He gathered his will and tore his gaze away from the artifact.

  Then he looked down.

  His breath caught.

  The ground beneath his feet was not merely rock.

  It was a graveyard.

  Thousands upon thousands of stone figures covered the planet's surface. At first glance they resembled humans, but their forms were twisted by a terror beyond comprehension.

  Faces locked in expressions of eternal horror.

  Bodies frozen mid-motion — as if they had been trying to flee something unspeakable before being turned to silent monuments of stone.

  Nico's mind raced.

  Who were these beings?

  What happened to this world to transform it into a cosmic mausoleum?

  The questions barely formed before something else appeared.

  On the distant horizon, the black energy began to move.

  It crawled across the planet like a rising tide of darkness.

  Nico immediately tried to step back.

  But his legs would not respond.

  They felt fused to the planet itself.

  He remembered this scene.

  This nightmare had visited him before — the night he collapsed at Arcadia University.

  The dark energy approached.

  Closer.

  Closer.

  Then it engulfed him.

  In a single instant he felt his body dissolve, breaking apart into ash scattered across the frozen winds of the void.

  Nico suddenly sat upright on his sofa.

  A silent scream remained trapped inside his chest.

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  The Price of the Vision

  Sweat poured from his forehead as his breathing came in harsh, uneven gasps.

  The darkness of his private quarters felt suffocating.

  He lowered his gaze toward his hands.

  The black energy within his veins was unusually active, surging restlessly as if responding to the nightmare he had just witnessed.

  "Damn it…" Nico muttered quietly.

  "The crown… the ruined planet… the darkness."

  "These visions are becoming clearer every time."

  He pressed a hand against his forehead.

  The pressure inside his skull felt unbearable, as though his mind were struggling to process something far beyond its understanding.

  "I need air…"

  Without hesitation, he stepped outside into the vast gardens of the headquarters.

  Night had already settled across the grounds.

  Silver moonlight illuminated the quiet pathways and tall trees that surrounded the complex.

  Nico sat on a wooden bench and leaned forward, burying his face in his hands as he inhaled the cold night air.

  But the images would not leave him.

  The stone faces.

  The endless void.

  "The approaching darkness."

  "Every time the scene changes… but the result is the same," he whispered.

  "Everything ends in ash."

  A quiet realization formed deep within him.

  Whatever he was witnessing…

  it was not simply a dream.

  And somehow, he felt connected to it.

  A General's Confession

  "It seems sleep has abandoned you as well, Nico."

  The calm voice broke the silence.

  Akaria Valerius approached along the garden path, her steps steady despite the injuries she had suffered during the battle.

  Nico turned his head slightly.

  "You're awake," he said. "How are you feeling? You lost consciousness during the battle."

  Akaria sat beside him and released a slow breath.

  "I was defeated," she said plainly. "There is no reason to pretend otherwise."

  She looked down at her hands.

  "If you had not intervened, the Black Spear would have been destroyed… and the border would now be a graveyard."

  Her gaze drifted toward the stars.

  "I underestimated them."

  "Those hybrid monsters are no longer mindless beasts. They're evolving… faster than we expected."

  Her expression hardened slightly.

  "If I had brought my legendary sword, perhaps things would have been different. Instead, I nearly caused a disaster for the entire unit."

  Nico listened quietly before speaking.

  "Don't let guilt cloud your judgment."

  "You did what any commander would have done with the information available."

  He leaned back slightly.

  "I've encountered monsters like those before. Usually they're guided by a single intelligent creature hiding in the shadows."

  He paused.

  "But you're right. Something has changed."

  Akaria nodded slowly.

  "Still… your intervention saved us."

  She turned toward him.

  "How did you release that much power without destroying your own body?"

  Nico studied his palm for a moment.

  "It comes down to two factors."

  "The first is compression."

  He closed his hand slowly.

  "You compress mana into an extremely small point. The more pressure it builds under confinement, the more destructive it becomes once released."

  Akaria nodded carefully.

  "And the second?"

  Nico's expression remained calm.

  "My body can withstand unusually high levels of internal mana pressure."

  "If someone else attempted the same technique, their body would likely rupture before the energy was released."

  Akaria stared at him for a moment in genuine astonishment.

  "That… explains a lot."

  She stood up.

  "Regardless, we survived. And thanks to you, the kingdom remains standing."

  She crossed her arms thoughtfully.

  "So I've decided to hold a celebration here at headquarters."

  "A small one. The soldiers need a morale boost after what happened."

  Nico glanced toward the eastern horizon where faint light was beginning to appear.

  "You mean today?"

  Akaria sighed and laughed softly.

  "Yes… today."

  "You and your absurd fireballs have ruined my sense of time."

  Nico remembered something.

  "And the others? Melina's injuries looked serious."

  "She's still under medical observation," Akaria replied. "But she will recover."

  "The others are resting."

  Nico watched her leave the garden.

  As the first rays of dawn began to spread across the sky, a quiet thought crossed his mind.

  They're lucky.

  To sleep without seeing the void.

  The Morning After

  Inside the Black Spear dining hall, the atmosphere was far less peaceful.

  Jackson, Natalia, and Elara sat around a breakfast table in heavy silence.

  Their bodies were still exhausted from the battle.

  Jackson rubbed his stiff shoulder.

  "I still can't believe it," he muttered.

  "If Nico hadn't stepped in, we would all be dead."

  He stared at his plate thoughtfully.

  "I still don't understand how he did it."

  "Maybe it was some forbidden technique… or maybe General Akaria helped him at the last moment."

  He sighed.

  "There's no logical explanation for one man wiping out an entire army of monsters."

  Lost in thought, Jackson accidentally bumped into Natalia.

  "Oh—sorry."

  Natalia looked at him coldly.

  "Watch where you're going, human," she snapped.

  "Don't add your clumsiness to my irritation."

  She pushed past him with clear disdain.

  Jackson watched her leave and shook his head.

  "What is wrong with her?"

  Elara finished her meal quickly.

  "I'll see you later," she said quietly.

  "Take care," Jackson replied with a tired smile.

  As Elara walked away, Natalia muttered under her breath near the exit.

  "You are a disgrace to the Jin race."

  Her resentment was obvious.

  She could not accept Elara's respect toward Nico — something her pride refused to acknowledge.

  The Heroic Lie

  Outside the headquarters, the Kingdom of Arcadia was alive with celebration.

  The streets were filled with excited conversations.

  In markets, taverns, and city squares, people discussed the great cleansing operation that had protected the borders.

  Official reports had already spread across the capital.

  According to the public story:

  General Akaria had faced a massive army of hybrid monsters and defeated them through the overwhelming power of her legendary abilities.

  To the citizens of Arcadia, she had become a symbol of absolute safety.

  The Elite Quartet were praised as rising heroes who had bravely defended the kingdom's frontier.

  But the truth remained hidden.

  No one spoke about Akaria collapsing on the battlefield.

  No one knew how close the kingdom had come to annihilation.

  And no one knew about the blue fire that had fallen from the sky — the power unleashed by a man who had never asked for recognition.

  Peace returned to Arcadia.

  A fragile peace built upon the shoulders of someone who preferred to remain in the shadows.

  While the world celebrated a victory…

  that would never have existed without him.

  [End of Chapter 34]